After leaving Brisbane, we took a 2.5 hour jaunt south to Australia's hippie mecca, Byron Bay. Before our trip, we had solicited advice from several people regarding the best places to visit in Australia. Without fail, the first place that everyone mentioned was Byron Bay. We were worried that it might not live up to the hype, but it didn't disappoint.
As we drove into the town, it felt like the world slowed down. We soon realized that pretty much everyone in Byron Bay is there to just relax and enjoy life. The first thing we did was make a (relaxed) beeline for the beach. Justin had to perform his usual beach ritual of taking his shirt off, dipping his toes in the water, and then sitting down on the beach.
One of the most popular things to do in Byron Bay, aside from surfing, is a ~3 hour walk up to a lighthouse at the south end of the bay. We decided that we had better check it out.
After walking for about a kilometer along the beach (it seemed to go forever), we realized that it was mid-afternoon and we hadn't yet had lunch. Deciding that we needed some sustinance for the climb to the lighthouse, we ducked in to a little cafe nestled up in the trees, just a few yards from the beach. The cafe had such a tranquil look to it that Emma initially mistook it for a Buddhist retreat. We had a leisurely lunch that included one of the best salads that we can remember having, filled with cashews and grilled Haloumi cheese (Emma's new favourite). We then set out to tackle the rest of the walk.
After making our way off the beach and up onto the cliffs that lead to the lighthouse, we noticed a group of kayakers out on the water. It turned out that they were watching two humpback whales that were paying a visit to the bay. We got a great view of the whales, who were very active. Unfortunately, neither of our cameras had a good enough zoom lens to capture them.
Imagine that those specks out on the water are whales:
We made it up to the lighthouse just in time for the sun to start setting.
It was right around 4pm, which we'd heard is the magic time when wallabies start to come out and forage. We were absolutely thrilled when this little one crossed our path a few minutes after 4.
Finally it leapt across the path and off into the Hinterlands once more.
After we emerged from the forest, the sun was getting close to the horizon, making for a spectacular view.
We then spent our evening at the Byron Bay Brewing Company, which is actually a not just a Brewery and Pub, but also a Cinema, Hostel, Spa and Spiritual Retreat.
As it was, we only had time to patronize the brewery and pub, which we thoroughly enjoyed. After sampling their seasonal beer (a fantastic chocolate wheat porter), we settled down and watched locals and travellers compete at an open mic night in the open air courtyard. We could have easily cancelled the rest of tour travels and stayed in Byron Bay for a week, but we decided to stay on schedule and continue our trek towards Sydney the following morning.
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